STAMFORD -- Voters have no shortage of choices to fill three vacant Board of Education seats this year. No incumbents are running, leaving the field wide open for the candidates who, collectively, cover the full range of experience in education and public service.

Meanwhile, the city's two most talked-about education issues this year -- the reduction in ability grouping in middle schools and how to minimize a lean budget's effect on classrooms -- have given the five candidates plenty of space to differentiate themselves.

Changes to grouping dominates two candidates' campaigns. Republican Fred Pierre-Louis and Democrat Naomi Chapman-Taylor have taken strong stands supporting reforms at middle schools, which have reduced ability groups and put children at different levels together in classrooms. These changes have drawn opposition from some, including the parent group Keep Ability Grouping in Stamford, which fears the change will mean students will not have their needs met.

Chapman-Taylor, who works as a customer operations associate for a liquor distributing company in Norwalk, decided to launch her first political campaign after attending a forum Superintendent Joshua Starr held in June discussing the changes. Reducing groups to two in middle schools is "moving us more toward a heterogeneous classroom, which I am in favor of."

Pierre-Louis, meanwhile, teaches high school chemistry in Naugatuck. As a doctoral candidate at the University of Hartford, his research focuses on mixed ability, or heterogeneous, classes. A pilot project, done as part of his research, found that 14 low-achieving students placed in college prep courses came to think of themselves as college prep students.

"The stigma of tracking kids has got to stop," Pierre-Louis said at the first debate Oct. 15.

In a paper describing his philosophy of education, Pierre-Louis writes that teachers must differentiate their teaching styles to meet students' varied learning styles, and he compares the work of a teacher with that of a symphony orchestra conductor.

Pauline "Polly" Rauh, a retired educator and member of the Board of Representatives, has taken a nuanced stance on grouping, saying that while heterogeneity is a wonderful goal, other changes must take full effect before all students are prepared.

For example, this year's sixth-grade students have not had the benefit of the new Everyday Math curriculum that is being phased in throughout the elementary grades.

"But at this point, we are sacrificing them by throwing them into the pot," she said.

Until all students have the basics, grouping to work on specific skill development is necessary, she said.

Republican Jerry Pia, who previously served for 18 years on the school board, is now on the Board of Representatives and runs the Glenbrook Community Center. He advocates reaching out to parents opposed to the ability grouping changes.

"How do you make this work for these people, because you do not want to lose those people?" he said. "There has got to be an answer that is going to make everybody happy."

At the second school board candidates' debate, Pia advocated putting students of similar ability levels together so they can work on skills together. The changes in sixth grade, however, are too new to evaluate any earlier than February, he said.

His running mate, Lorraine Olson, is a school nurse and former health teacher. She has taken a cautious stance, citing the newness of the changes and her daughters' good experiences in a regular, grouped middle school and at Scofield Magnet Middle School, which uses a heterogeneous model.

In the first debate, she said she was concerned about preparation for reduced ability grouping at other schools; Scofield's model has been operating for years.

When asked about the biggest challenge faced by the schools, most candidates focused on educating all students and reaching out to students' families. Pia, however, focused on the inherently limited resources of the district.

"The problem is, how do you educate those students within the constraints of the budget?" he said.

He has spoken several times of being on the board when it submitted a budget request that was no larger than it received the previous year, a difficult feat considering contractual increases and other costs.

An account in The Advocate from 1993 showed Pia, then a school board member, voting against a budget increase he believed to be too large.

He and Rauh have said talks between the Board of Education and the other boards must begin early, ideally, as soon as the election is over, so the school board knows what it can realistically request, rather than adding to last year's number.

A lean budget request should prioritize classroom teachers, he said. "Cutting huge amounts of staff, that has got to stop," he said.

During budget discussions last year, Rauh, who chairs the city representatives' Education Committee and has worked as a building principal in the district, advocated cutting the school board's budget request, saying it could mean opportunity for change.

"I just feel we have to be fiscally responsible and accountable for where we are spending," she said. "The budget should be the same financial plan as the written strategic plan."

Pierre-Louis has emphasized the importance of maintaining a good relationship with Board of Finance members, while Chapman-Taylor, a former pricing analyst, declined to comment on the process at a recent debate, saying she was still studying it.

Olson drew upon her experience as a teacher in the new Scofield Magnet Middle School, recounting how a central office ordered a stage, which turned out to be unusable, to substitute for not building an auditorium in the new building.

"We need to really ask people that are involved and see where we can cut our budget," she said.